Listen to Your Heart
by Bs2B
Summary: Short story following the dinner in The Goop on the Girl. Booth stays over to help Brennan clean up. Fluff!
1. It's Only My Heart

**Hey there!! My name is Gabby! I've read a lot of Bones fanfiction lately and decided to give it a shot!**

**Dont own anything!**

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Booth picks up another soaped plate from the pile and rinses it out before putting it in the drier. He had insisted on staying after Christmas dinner to help Brennan clean up. He continues the process of washing the dishes as he listens to the conversation taking place in the living room.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay over" Brennan asks Margaret, "I can take you to the airport myself tomorrow"

"No it's fine" Margaret shrugs awkwardly, "All of my things are at the hotel anyways"

"It's okay, honey" Max puts a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "I'll take her tomorrow, you just sleep in. It can do you good to sleep eight hours sometimes" he grins

"I get plenty of sleep everyday dad," Brennan says annoyed

"Taking a nap at your office couch does not count as sleep Tempe," he pats her shoulder, "I'll call you tomorrow after I drop Margaret off, maybe we could have lunch"

"Okay" Brennan nods, "See you tomorrow" she gives him a peck on the cheek. She then turns to Margaret, "Umm, it was nice to meet you," they hug awkwardly

"Yes, you too" Margaret nods as they break the hug.

"Bye Booth!" Max shouts, "tell Parker Marry Christmas for me"

"Sure thing Max, bye" Booth yells back from the kitchen, "Bye Margaret, nice to meet you"

Margaret widens her eyes uncomfortably before letting out an almost inaudible "Bye."

And with one last Ben Franklin quote, she and Max are gone.

Brennan shuts the door behind them and moves to the kitchen, "You do know I have a dishwasher right?" she asks Booth as she spots him washing the dirty dishes

Booth turns to her briefly and nods "Yes, I do" he shifts his attention back to the sink "I just find this oddly relaxing"

Brennan stands next to him eying him strangely, almost worriedly

"What Bones?" Booth hesitates a little uncomfortable with her worried glare

"It's just, umm, I don't recall you ever liking to wash the dishes," she shrugs, "at least not before your brain tum—" His warning glare stops her as their eyes lock

He doesn't like to be reminded of how his brain tumor changed him, not when he is still afraid he might wake up one day and completely forget who he is. He realizes how harshly he is staring at her and softens his gaze.

"Like I said I find this ODDLY relaxing, oddly being the key word here" he clears his throat

"Sorry Booth, I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay Bones, I just—it's okay" he offers a grin

She grins back at him agreeing to drop the subject for now, "You're doing all the work there, at least let me help" she gets a hand towel and starts to dry the dishes from the already overstuffed drier, "You know, anthropologically speaking all manual activities that don't require a great deal of effort to get done, like, for example, washing the dishes, are found to be relaxing by most people"

Booth turns to her and gives her a charming smile. Yes she could sometimes be a pain in the neck and annoy the hell out him with her witty scientific comments, but most of the time, like this one, she would say the most perfect things without even knowing it.

"Thanks Bones" he says bumping the side of his rear too hers

Brennan nods glad that what she said has comforted him and smile back to him bumping her sides to his.

They work quickly through the remaining dishes, enjoying some small talk in the process and when they're done they move to the living room.

Booth sighs and drops himself on Brennan's couch, putting his feet on her coffee table before getting the clicker from the end table and turning the TV on. "You know, you need a bigger TV"

Brennan rolls her eyes, "Well, since this is my house and my TV, I think I get to choose how big of a TV I need"

Booth throws his hands up in defeat, "Just saying Bones," he grins, "a good friend always tries to give advice, even if it's unwanted"

"You know, people that watch a lot of TV are more likely to have eye problems as they mature," She states matter-of-factly as she finally takes a sit next to him

"Lucky for us we are still youthful," he beams at her his eyebrows wiggling

Brennan chuckles lightly

"Just saying Bones," Booth continues, taking her chuckle as encouragement, "Parker and I could come here on the weekends and watch a ball game, huh? After all you did agree to be my village"

"Yes," Brennan nods, "I did agree to be your hamlet of eight hundred people or less. However I don't see how that or offering to spend my weekend watching sports is going to persuade me into getting a bigger TV"

"Aww, come on Bones" Booth feigns a hurtful expression, "I thought you enjoyed my company well enough to award me a few hours of your precious weekend. Besides, as you yourself explained it, Parker needs a childish outlet to practice his battle skills to become an alpha male like his daddy here, and there's nothing better then a good old ball game"

Brennan rolls her eyes again, "That's not what I meant when I told you sports—" she stops herself and sighs, "Booth, you're more then welcome to bring Parker by over the weekend to watch sports, but just don't expect me to buy a bigger TV for you to do so"

Booth's chocolate brow eyes fills up with something Brennan can exactly name, "Aww Bones, that's really sweet," Booth gulps trying to hide his emotions. There it is, her heart muscles surprising him again.

Brennan nods in return, her azure eyes taking a darker shade as she tries to read her partner.

They keep their eyes on each other for a few seconds longer but turn to the TV when they feel it's about get a little awkward. They fall into a comfortable silence as Booth fiddles with the remote control to find something better to watch. He navigates through the guide until he sees that Casablanca is just about to start and turns to that channel knowing that Brennan is an old movies fan.

Brennan smiles as Booth changes to the channel that Casablanca is starting, and lets out a short snort when he mumbles "oldie but goodie," knowing that he probably doesn't find the movie all that good and is just putting it on because she likes old movies. And even though Casablanca isn't one of her favorites, she can't help but grin broadly as pleasant memories of her childhood fill her thoughts.

Booth looks at his partner with adoration as she chuckles at his comment, glad that she is looking at the screen as he does so. She has no freaking clue to the warmth that her laugher brings him, and how he'd do anything to make her do so.

During the first ten minutes of the movie Booth finds it more interesting to watch his partner and how her flawless face gets all squinty as she tries to rationalize the characters' beliefs and choices and etc. However, somewhere along the way his head starts to drift off as he recalls their previous moment in the kitchen and how he had so rudely cut her off when she was only trying to express her worries about him, to him.

Without any warning he picks up the clicker from the place he had left it to rest and turns off the TV.

"Hey," Brennan protests, "I was actually watching that Booth" she says, turning to him with an annoyed expression that quickly dissolves when she sees his contemplative features.

They turn to each other but surprisingly, to Brennan, Booth isn't quick to meet her gaze and instead looks at his hands which are resting on his lap.

She studies her partner's face seeing something that he rarely lets her see; insecurity.

"Booth—" she starts but he cuts her off

"I'm sorry Bones, I'm sorry I kinda snapped at you when you said that thing about washing dishes" he meets her gaze hesitantly

Brennan nods, she hadn't meant any harm, and she was just looking out for him. But she is also used to Booth's difficulty to opening up, and even though it sometimes makes her feel rejected, ever since the his brain tumor she has been careful at pushing his boundaries, "It's okay Booth, I know you didn't do it on purpose" she reassures him

It's Booth turn to nod, "I didn't. It's just that…um, I'm afraid that I'll wake up one day and I won't recognize who I am, you know?" he voices his fears

When Booth starts to confide in her, Brennan isn't sure if all the alcohol he had consumed that night had finally made it's way into his system or if he had just embraced his catholic side and delved into the 'Christmas sprit', although, from an anthropological point of view people do indeed become more emotional during festivities, especially towards the end of the year.

But as she keeps listening to his heartfelt confession, she can feel that he is truly agitated with his 'condition'. His intention for opening up no longer matters to her as she reaches out to touch his hand, "Booth, just because you forgot how to do your plumbing, or had a insignificant relapse on how to shoot your gun, it doesn't mean you're gonna wake up one day and not remember your name. If I recall it correctly after you stopped fussing about how you couldn't shoot your gun anymore and started focusing on the actual task it ended up pretty well"

"I don't fuss!" Booth retorts before letting out an exasperated breath, "And it's not insignificant, not to me" he looks down at their joined hands before returning his gaze back to hers with more intensity, "I was all about plumbing and handiness and all that stuff before my brain tumor, and now I'm not"

Brennan nods. She isn't used to be the one answering this kind of questions, she is usually the one asking them. She takes the time to think about what he usually says to comfort her before speaking, "Booth, change is a natural course of evolution. Everyone changes, sometimes it's deliberate, you know by choice—"

"I know what deliberate means Bones" the corner of Booth's lip tug up

"and sometimes it's involuntary, like in your case," she continues as though he hadn't interrupted, "And besides there's a lot more to people than your their manual skills Booth, you taught me that" she says before smiling mischievously at him, "aren't you also all about sports, and justice and God, and love and—"

"Are you being sarcastic Dr. Brennan?" Booth eyes lit up as he jokes, not so secretly loving the way she was busting up his ego.

"Booth, I'm serious" she says, keeping her playful smile nonetheless. "And I'm no medical doctor," she restarts seriously, "but since it's been fairly long since your operation, and you haven't had any other serious complications that have impaired your brain from healing, I don't think you can loose anything anymore. But again, I have no evidence of this"

"What about what I have already lost?" Booth asks, not completely reassured, "Don't I ever get that back?"

"I don't know" she says sincerely, "What I do know is that if you want you can relearn any manual skill you've lost. You might not have the steepest learning curve but from the five years that I've been working with you I know that you can do almost anything if you put your mind into it"

"Or I can always count on dummy books," he smiles, feeling a lot better

"You can surely try that again," Brennan grins, "you were not born with these skills after all"

"Right," Booth nods, "but what if I forget that I like brown sugar?" He throws her a charming grin, replaying the conversation they'd had a while ago

"Well, you can always call me," she smiles back

"What if I can't reach you?"

"Then you can follow your heart, or your gut, or whatever wants to speaks to you at the time, because even though in my own experience I find that logic and reason are the wisest tools to use, listening to your organs has often worked for you," she eyes him soothingly not noticing that her hand had given his a involuntary squeeze

Booth beams at her, "You know Bones, even though sometimes you can be as thick as a bone, you're a freaking awesome friend"

"Bones have varying density, Booth" she eyes him as though he should know that before breaking into a smile, "but you're a very magnificent friend too"

If his smile could get any bigger it would have. Brennan isn't one to throw around compliments if she doesn't believe them, and having her spend a good ten minutes just stroking his ego with compliment after compliment for the sake of comforting him makes his heart swell up in pure bliss and hope. Being admired by the person you love and cherish does tend to have that effect, and if he has gained anything from this brain tumor, if any good came out of it, it was finally being able to recognize his feelings for his partner. Now he only has to muster up the nerve to tell her about it and then pray to God she feels the same way and is not scared to act on those feelings. But as Gordon Gordon had said, all he needs is 'hope and patience'. With her words today she has just reinforced his hope, but patience, now that is another story, especially after hearing her say the things she did, after feeling her soft and surprisingly delicate hands on his, after having been slowly but surely intoxicated by her sent all night long.

Booth clears his throat to push away his dangerous thoughts, "I almost forgot I have something for you" he remembers, standing up to find his coat. He searches though his pocket and finds the small box, "It's nothing fancy, but I remember you told me you lost yours, so I thought I'd buy you a new one" he walks back to the couch and extends the box to her, "Merry Christmas, Bones"

Brennan snatches the box from his hands and eyes him curiously before opening the box with a smile. Once she sees what's inside her smile grows into a full blown grin as she pulls the keychain from the box. Attached to the ring that holds the keys there is a four inch delicate silver chain and at the other end of it there are two silver pendants; one of a cute little flat skull and the other a round sign that has 'I Heart Bones' written on it. Booth can't help but wonder if she sees the double meaning in it.

"This is very endearing Booth, although the skull could use a little more detail" Brennan says

Booth rolls his eyes, "Yeah I know Bones. But since this is a keychain and not a study model I think we can let that slip"

"Yes we can" Brennan nods, "thank you, you didn't have to"

"Nah," Booth waves off, "It's nothing, really"

"Still, thank you. It's very nice Booth" she stands up, "I have something for you too" she smiles proudly

"Yeah?" Booth asks surprised

"Yes" Brennan nods but doesn't move

"Am I supposed to guess where it is?" he hesitates

"No" Brennan shakes her head confusedly, "just stay here" she orders

Booth chuckles at her demanding tone as she scurries off "I wasn't planning on going anywhere"

Brennan comes back with two rectangular boxes about the size of her palm sitting on top of each other and tied together with a bow. She steps in front of Booth and hands the boxes to him.

"Two for the price of one huh?" he teases, "When did I earn the brownie points?"

Brennan eyes him clueless, "I don't know what that means"

Booth tries to muffle a guffaw, "Never mind Bones, thank you"

"You haven't even seen what it is and you're already thanking me, what if you don't like it?"

"Bones, it's the thought that counts," he explains

"Okay," Brennan nods, "just open it"

"Someone is giddy" Booth states in sarcasm

"I'm not giddy" Brennan counters, "I simply want to know if my choice of present was satisfactory"

"Fine, I will put you out of your misery" He snorts. He carefully undoes the bow that is holding the boxes together and puts it on her coffee table, slowly as to not let his presents fall he removers the lid of the first box to find a beautifully crafted belt buckle with the phrase 'American Law Man' engraved on it. "Wow Bones, this is really nice"

A proud grin appears on Brennan lips, "There's one more"

Booth chuckles and shakes his head at his impatient partner, "Yes Bones, I can see that"

He closes the first box and rests in on the coffee tale before opening the next one. When he sees the contents of the second box he doesn't know if he should laugh out loud or bury his head in the nearest patch of sand. It is another belt buckle, a round one this time, but the words engraved on it are far more provoking than those on the previous one. It is obviously meant as a joke, much like his 'Cocky' belt buckle, but the question is, does Bones get that it is joke?

He looks back at her face and sees her eyes tinkling the way they only do when she is holding back laughter. Knowing that she gets the joke, and had meant it as a joke, he is finally able to let out a relieved sigh before breaking out in laughter.

Seeing him laugh makes holding her laughter quite impossible and she breaks into giggles with him.

Booth's eyes sparkle with bliss as he hears her carefree laughter. She doesn't usually let herself be this buoyant, although in his opinion she really should, because she looks radiant.

When they stop laughing and he finally finds the will to look away from her flawless face and down at the round belt buckle with an engraved arrow pointing up with the phrase 'The Man' below it and one arrow pointing down with the phrase "The Legend", as her voice fills his ears

"It's pretty good" She states proudly

"Yeah Bones, it is pretty good" He agrees

"Especially since you like to call attention to your crotch" she says matter-of-factly

"Yes, right, thank you for pointing that out" Booth feigns annoyance but he knows he wouldn't have her any other way

"I'm not admonishing you Booth. Anthropologically speaking it takes a lot of confidence to display—"

"Yeah, okay" Booth cuts her off, "I get it"

"Booth, you don't need to be ashamed of—" she tries to continue but he silences her by placing a finger on her lips

"Bones, I'm aware of all my alpha-male characteristics, we don't need to go over them again" He says, feeling the flesh on his finger burn as it touches her soft lips before clearing his throat and letting his hand fall back in place

She lets him have this one, realizing that she is too tired to start bickering with him about his inability to converse about anything that touches on the subject of sex or sexual tendencies.

Booth doesn't miss her long tired blink and after looking at his watch he isn't at all surprised, "Geez Bones it's almost four in the mourning!"

Brennan looks toward the clock hanging on her wall and her eyebrows rise in surprise, "Wow, time does go by fast when we're having fun"  
Booth grins at her comment, feeling content that she thinks he is fun to be around, "Well, I gotta go"

"You're welcome to the couch" she offers

"Thanks Bones, that's sweet, but um…I was thinking about getting up early tomorrow and flying to Quebec to see Parker," he smiles sheepishly, "And you probably want to sleep in so it's best I go home"

"Okay" Brennan nods and they start to move towards the door

"This was really nice Bones" Booth states while putting his new belt buckles in his jacket pocket before throwing it on, "I'm glad you ditched Peru and decided to do this"

"El Salvador" she corrects him, "and yes, this was surprisingly entertaining"

"It shouldn't be surprising" Booth points out

Brennan eyes him confused

"You were surrounded by people that love you Bones, you shouldn't be surprised you had fun"

Brennan takes his explanation and nods in acceptance "Well then, I guess the only two things keeping this from being a the perfect Christmas were Parker's and Russ' and his family's absence"

"Yes" Booth agrees, "Maybe next year, huh. That is if you don't go to Guatemala" he teases

Brennan rolls her tired eyes at him

"What are you doing for the New Years?" he asks trying to prolong their goodbye a little bit more.

"I don't know, maybe I'll go to El Salvador after all" she shrugs

"Alright" he nods, "Let me know, maybe we could spend it together"

"Okay" Brennan she nods, "as long as it doesn't mean we have to go to a religious gathering"

Its Booth's turn to roll his eyes at his partner, "Don't worry, no religious gathering of any sort. Scouts honor," he jokes

They fall into silence their eyes begin a silent conversation. Nothing needs to be said for them to know that they are both reminiscing over the night's events

"Thanks Bones," Booth breaks their spell, only to stir a new one as he reaches out and grabs both her hands giving them a firm squeeze, "Thank you for everything, thanks for tonight"

Brennan is taken by surprise and her eyes widen. She isn't used to this level of intimacy with Booth. Yes they had touched before, but this simple gesture of taking her hands in his feels more intimate then any hug they've ever shared.

To his surprise she doesn't pull away and instead lets his eyes tell her everything that his lips are not voicing. He's not thanking her for the presents she's given him, or for inviting him over. That he's already done. He's really thanking her for being his friend, for listening and for understanding. He's thanking her for not judging, and for supporting him.

Unable to control himself, Booth lets his gaze slip from her eyes, down to her soft and inviting lips, back to her eyes, and before he can even register what he's doing he leans down and plants a solid peck on his partner's lips.

The kiss lasts no more that a few seconds for both of them are too shocked to do anything but widen their eyes. Booth nibbles her bottom lips slightly as he pulls away and before she can respond in any way he leans downs and whispers, "That Bones, was me listening to my heart" before he walks away.

---


	2. Finally

Okayy... First of...thanks for the reviews...They've prompted me into making this a little longer!! 3 to 4 chapters!

Here is chapter 2! I hope you enjoy it. Excuse any mistakes for I haven't had time to really look them but I'll try and edit if I find any.

This chapter isnt B&B heavy but next one is so stay tuned!

---

Booth clasps his seatbelt with a 'click' as the flight attendant announces that they've begun descending. He had spent the last two days with Parker, Rebecca, her boyfriend and his family in Quebec and they are now making their way back home to D.C.

He'd had good time, as he always does when traveling with Parker, although things with Drew's family had been a little awkward, but he'd be lying if he said that he didn't spend his whole trip thinking about one thing and one thing only: Dr. Temperance Brennan. They haven't talked, not even through the phone, ever since he so impulsively planted a kiss on her lips. He'd called her house and cell from Quebec multiple times but she hadn't answered.

Booth sighs heavily. He's angry, angry at himself for not being as patient as Gordon Gordon had advised him to be, after all as he himself has said one too many times, you cannot rush Bones. But mostly he's angry at her. I mean this is him they're talking about. HIM! Seeley Joseph Booth, her partner, confidant, shoulder to cry on, best friend, the man who took a bullet to the heart to save her. She should know better then to shut him out like all the selfish, heartless, and inconsiderate bastards she's dated, who were only concerned on fulfilling their biological urges and leaving.

But if he thinks about it that's exactly why she is shutting him out, because if that kiss meant to her even in the slightest bit of what it meant to him, then he is hitting too close to home, making his way into her heart in a way she'd lose all control. And that's what she's most afraid of, losing control, losing this perfect balance that they have.

Booth is pulled away from his thoughts when he feels something tugging his arm. He looks down at his son who is grinning broadly at him and pointing out the plane window, "Look dad!"

Booth turns his eyes to the window to see Washington D.C. bathing in early morning sun light, " Wow buddy, that's beautiful!" he says, his mind drifting off once again to his partner as he decides that first thing he will do when the plane lands is go after her and sit her down to have a nice long talk.

---

If Brennan were to count how many minutes she stood facing her door after Booth left after planting that kiss on her she'd be surprised. All she knows is that it felt like an eternity and that while she was doing so her mind had worked through so many emotions at once that she had felt dizzy.

The first thought that crossed her mind while her partner's lips were still on hers was, "What the hell is he doing?" but that thought had quickly changed to "Please don't stop!" and that's what scares her the most.

Yes, she is well aware of her physical attraction to Booth, she has always been. She has even confessed to that attraction, albeit in accident, to several people like Angela, Margaret and even Booth himself. And she has also been aware of her partner's physical attraction to her, his pupil dilation has given him away several times and also the many times he has called her beautiful, or sexy, or well structured.

And, throughout the five years that they've been working together they've learned how to push that into the back of their minds, far off the line they'd put up when their partnership started.

But this had been different. This kiss hadn't been one that says "I want you". He had been very specific about which organ he had listened to. This was coming from his heart, and knowing Booth as she does, knowing that he believes that emotions come from his heart, then this can only mean something, something she is far too afraid to admit, after all everyone that she has ever allowed to get that close to her has ended up leaving. And if there's one thing she can admit is that Booth has become far too important for to her to risk it.

With that in mind she does the only thing she knows how when things get to emotional; she buries herself in work, and since that Jeffersonian is closed until the end of the holidays, there is only one other choice; El Salvador.

Without as much as a second thought, Brennan picks up her phone and dials the number to her preferred travel agency, booking the next flight available. When that is done she scurries off to her bedroom to pack, and just about half an hour later she's out the door and on her way to the airport.

--

Booth steps out of the taxi onto the street and looks up at the house number to make sure he's got the right one. He marches up the carefully painted porch steps of the quaint townhouse that could only belong to one person. He knocks on the door softly and waits for her to come down. He can hear her footsteps coming from the inside of the door as she opens it and greets him with a smile.

"Hey Angie," Booth greets

"Hey Booth! What are you doing here?" her smile turns into an embarrassed grin as she presses the door close to her body as though she's hiding something.

"I'm here to get the address of the place she's staying," He says matter-of-factly

"She—Who?" Angela asks confused, keeping the door as close to her body as possible.

"Bones" Booth says, "I know she is in El Salvador, but I don't know where she's staying" After the plane landed, Booth had kissed his son goodbye and gotten into the first taxi available, giving the address to Brennan's apartment, but as he'd thought about it, the one thing she does when she's upset is work, and since Cam had prohibited any of the squints from working during the holidays by closing down the Jeffersonian, Bones had one other option; El Salvador.

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Angela asks curiously, "she always tells you"

"Well she didn't this time, so can we please get in so you can give it to me" Booth says a little irritated

"Whoa, big guy" Angela put her hands up, "play nice!"

Booth looks down and nods, "Sorry Angie, can we please get in so you can give me the address?"

Angela smiles briefly and looks inside her house uncertainly

"You don't need to hide Wendell, Angie. It's none of my business" Booth speaks, a mischievous smile creeping its way into his face

Angela's head snaps towards him before she offers him a grin, "How did you—"

"FBI SPECIAL Agent Seeley Booth" Booth points at himself, "Sometime I wonder if you guys really think that I can do my job" he continues, amused.

Angela's smile widens as she finally opens the door to let him in. Once inside she closes the door behind him, "Wait, right here" she tells him and runs to her bedroom returning with a piece of paper

"So what happened?" She asks inquisitively, "did you two get into a fight"

"Something like that" Booth nods, extending his palm for the piece of paper

Angela's lip tug up as she reads his body language, knowing that he is withholding crucial information and holds the paper further away from him.

Booth rolls his eyes, _curious Angela always prying for more._ "Angie" he whines

Angela shakes her head, telling him that he has to spill

Booth takes a long breath in, and lets it out slowly, "We kissed"

Angela's lip stretches from one ear to the other before she opens her mouth to say something

"Don't even say it" Booth holds up his hands

"I—" she tries again

"No, Angie" Booth insists

"You don't even know—"

"Yeah, I do" Booth nods knowingly, "and it's something along the lines of 'finally!' or 'I told you so' or something like that and I don't want to hear it. I don't wanna hear it, because it doesn't feel like 'finally' for me, she jus ran away and refuses to answer my calls, so please just wait until we know everything is gonna be okay"

"Booth, it is gonna be okay" Angela reassures him, "C'mon, in all the years that I've known Brennan she has never let a man as close as she's let you"

"If she wanted what I want she wouldn't have run away" Booth says, "I mean she's never given me any sign"

"Yes she has, and so have you. You've given each other plenty of signs, you're just too dumb to see them, because everyone else has" Angela argues, "And, she does want what you want, it's the exact reason she's run away, because it scares the living hell out if her"

The corner of Booth's lips tug up. It feels good to know someone believes on their love.

Angela finally puts the piece of paper on Booth's hands, "Go get her."

Booth looks up at her and grins, "Thanks Angie, thanks a lot"

"Oh, no problem. I'm doing this for myself," She jokes, "If you two spent another year playing this whole, 'we're just partners game' I might wanna jump off a building"

Booth chuckles lightly and points at the door, "I should go"

"Yes, you should"

"Bye Angie," He moves to the door, "And thanks for this" he waves the paper

Angela closes the door behind Booth with a smile. She turns towards her living room to make her way to the bedroom where Wendell is patiently waiting for her. She walks all the way to hallway leading to her bedroom and when she can't hold it in any longer she throws her arms up and shouts, "FINALLY"


	3. Silly Boof

Thank you all again for the feedback!!

Here is chapter 3!

-----

'multiple blows to the frontal bone' Brennan writes on her notes underneath 'Body # 12' as she takes a break from exhuming it. She climbs the few steps out of a pit to the main field of the excavation site and walks back to her tent to shelter herself from the hot sun for a few minutes. She drops her notebook on her foldable table, taking her water bottle from her utility belt and drinking it. She looks around at the decently sized site full of students and renowned scientists going in and out of the pits bringing not only bones but also objects that together might be one of the biggest discoveries in the history of the country.

When Dr. DelaCruz, the organizer, had called her about the dig in November she'd been very excited for it. Being somewhat in the middle of Central America gives El Salvador great potential for the discovery of ancient human remains; her true passion.

She takes a bottle from the ice filled bucket and places it in a specific place on her utility belt, replacing the one she had just drank before going back to her assigned pit. She tightens the cap she's wearing to protect her eyes and face from the sun as a young student passes by her and waves.

"Hi, Dr. Brennan" the girl smiles broadly, "I'm Tina. I—I'm working over at the 3rd excavation with Dr. Kenu"

Brennan gives the girl a tight-lipped, awkward grin, "Dr. Kenu is a very good professional, I'm sure you're in good hands"

"Yeah," Tina nods enthusiastically, "I just saw you passing by and, umm, wanted to say I'm a big fan of your work. Not only scientifically but also your fictional books"

"Oh, thank you" Brennan nods. They share uncomfortable silence before Brennan speaks again, "Well, I have a lot of work and I'm sure Dr. Kenu needs every help he can get"

"Oh yeah" Tina's smiles fades, "it was nice to meet you"

"Yes," Brennan says, "Bye"

She arrives at her workstation to find the students that have been assigned to her working hard. With a pleasant sigh she picks up the skull she was previously analyzing, identifying and recording all of its anomalies. Around her she can see people focused on their tasks, doing the jobs that were assigned to them efficiently. Everything is where it's supposed to be, everyone is doing what they good at, everything is right, everything is under control, just like the way she likes it; at least for now.

--

Booth thanks the cab driver using the little Spanish he knows. He grabs his backpack from the sit beside him and steps out of the car. The sight before him is so familiar and yet so foreign. Yes, he sees corpses and skeletons being exhumed almost everyday, but this feels very different. The foul smell that he associates with this activity is not present, instead there's an almost enjoyable sent of dirt and wood floating in the air. And instead of multiple police cars with lights and sirens buzzing on top of it, and a team of forensic investigators pocking around the victims, there are very excited scientists running in and out of tents and in and out of wide rectangular holes on the ground.

He starts walking towards what one might call the entrance where two security guards stand and a young looking girl, probably in her early twenties is sitting at desk, receptionist? He notices how poorly secure this site is, with the only thing protecting the scientists inside being a yellow tape that wraps around the whole thing and a few guards here and there probably so tired from having to walk around with the scorching sun above their head to react quickly enough against a potential threat. "Nice Bones, real nice. Nice place to came and feel safe," he mumbles under his breath as he stops in front of the desk.

The girl looks up at him and smiles, *How may I help you?* she asks in Spanish

Booth understands what she asks but knows that if he tried to answer in Spanish he'd make a fool out of himself so he just answers in English hoping she'd understand, "I'm looking for Dr. Temperance Brennan," he speaks unusually slow

"Yes, Dr. Temperance Brennan inside, who may I say it is?" The girl answers back a poor English

"Oh, tell her it's her partner, Seeley Booth" Booth says

"Silly?" she laughs, "why your name silly?" she asks as she and the guards chuckle

_Great_, Booth rolls his eyes, _I'm here probably about to have the most important conversation of my life and now I have people calling me silly. Just great!_

"No," Booth says, "It's Seeley, S-E-E-L-E-Y, not silly, Seeley"

"It's funny name," the girl giggles

"Well then, just call me Booth"

"Boof" the girl repeats

Booth rolls his eyes again, "Yes, Boof. Boof is fine," he lets out an aspirated breath

"Okay," the girls nods, "Wait here, I go get your doctor"

Booth nods, "Gracias"

Two minutes later a very angry and confused Brennan following the young girl reach the tape fence.

"Here Mr. Silly Boof, I get you Dr. Brennan" the girl says enthusiastically

"Thank you," he smiles politely at the girl before locking eyes with Brennan. He feels a shiver run through his body at the mix of emotions he finds in her blue pools. He tilts his head indicating that he wants them to walk away from the receptionist and the guards to speak more privately. Brennan nods briefly and the start walking. When they are a good 25 feet away from them they stop.

Booth looks at the tape between his partner and himself, knowing that he is so close he can just reach above or below it and grab her hand. But even as close as they are he can't help but notice how distant they've suddenly become. Brennan's body is tense as if she wants to be anywhere but there beside him and her eyes are looking everywhere but him.

In that moment Booth wants nothing but to run away. He feels nauseated, like he's just been punched on the gut and his head suddenly feels very heavy. However, he pushes these feelings aside and breathes in slowly. He'd come here to do something and he is damn well going to do it if it's the last thing he ever does.

"What was with that girl? Why could she say your name just fine and murder mine," He speaks calmly, trying to ease his way into the situation

"Why are you here Booth?" Brenna cuts to the chase

If Booth wasn't feeling so damn rejected he'd have smiled. It's just like her to cut the bullshit and hit the point. And although he wants to keep his cool, he finds himself growing increasingly angry. He looks down and grabs the yellow tape, "What type of security is this? What is this supposed to keep away? You know there are tomb raiders and treasure hunters who'd love to get their hands in one of those ancient skeletons you have over there," he sighs heavily

"So, you're here to play body guard?" she asks irritably

"No, I'm just saying that this isn't safe" he rebuts, squaring his shoulders

Brennan does the same, "Frankly Booth, I'm working hard on something I'm really passionate about and I love that I don't have to care about any murders trying to kill me because I'm getting too close to finding out something for once. Besides, if something were to happen I'm very capable of taking care of myself, so I'm sorry if I don't give a damn about security right now"

Booth swallows hard, "Well, I care about your well-being and I'm not sorry for that, so excuse me for trying to look out for you"

Brennan lets out a desperate sigh, "What are you doing here Booth?" she demands

"We kissed, Goddamnit!" He raises his voice to match hers, "we kissed and you ran away!"

"You" she points at him accusingly, "You kissed me!"

"Fine" Booth throws his hands up, "I kissed you. It doesn't change the fact that you ran away and refused to answer any of my calls"

"I didn't run away" she lowers her voice a little, keeping her stance nonetheless, "I'm working"

"Right, and here I though we had agreed that you'd call me if you decided to come here," Booth shrugs dismissively, "But hey, how stupid am I to think that I'm important enough to you that you'd inform me of your plans"

Booth runs his hand through his hair hopelessly, coming here might have been a big mistake, "and to think that I came here from Quebec without even getting a new change of clothes, to think that I'd come here and make sure we're alright"

"Booth—" Brennan begins, the tone of her voice saying that she regrets treating him the way she did, but is interrupted when Dr. DelaCruz comes towards them.

"Temperance," he nods at her and offers a warm smile before turning to Booth, "you must be FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth"

"Yes" They shake hands, "nice to meet you umm—"

"Dr. Leonardo DelaCruz" the man speaks softly

"Nice to meet you Dr. DelaCruz" Booth repeats politely

"I see you came to visit your partner"

"Yes"

"Don't you want to come in, we have a break in about half an hour, you can talk more calmly" offers and Booth does not miss the double meaning of 'talking more calmly'

"It's fine Leonardo, Booth here was just leaving" Brennan speaks. She is sorry for having treated Booth dismissively but she just doesn't thing that this is the right place to talk about it.

Booth looks at her hurt, _If she things she'll get rid of me this easily…_

"Actually that would be great Dr. DelaCruz" Booth turns his eyes to the doctor, not missing Brennan's irritation, "working with Temperance this long has actually made me curious about this whole archeological stuff." He smiles

Brennan doesn't miss his use of her first name and although reading people isn't her forte, she's pretty sure he did that just to irritate her further

"Well then," Dr. DelaCruz lifts up the tape for Booth to pass, "please join us"

Booth bends his head down a little and passes under the tape. Brennan and Dr. DelaCruz walk a little ahead of him and he can hear them updating each other on how things are going at the pits. Brennan tells him she found something interesting on a skull she's analyzing before launching into anthropological mumbo jumbo.

He follows them to a tent where they stop and turn to him. "Well, Agent Booth it was nice to meet you. Temperance here talked a lot about you on our last Guatemala dig"

Booth looks at Brennan with a little triumphant grin, "Did she now?"

"Yes," Dr. DelaCruz says, missing the exchange between the partners.

Booth looks back at the doctor, "It was nice to meet you too"

The doctor nods one more time before leaving the tent towards one of the pits

Brennan takes Booth's arm abruptly and pushes him gently into a foldable chair, "I'm gonna go work, you stay here and wait for my break," she orders

"Don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere," he holds her gaze, making sure she understands exactly what he means

They stare at each other's eyes for a few seconds before Brennan breaks the spell and walks over the ice filled bucket and grabs two water bottles. She puts one on her utility belt and shoves the other one into Booth's hand, "Keep hydrated," she tells him before turning around and walking to her pit.

Booth watches the scurrying scientists working as he drinks his water slowly. He can't see Brennan for when she walked down into the big hole on the ground she disappeared from his line of vision. He feels his curiosity start to boil inside of him as he wonders what exactly she is doing. Remembering that he had packed a Flyers cap too his trip to Quebec, he reaches into his backpack and pulls it out. Once the cap is sitting firmly on his head, he gets another couple of water bottles and walks towards Brenna's pit.

He sits down at the edge of the pit and looks down only to have his breath taken away from him. Yes, Brennan has repeatedly told him about how studying ancient remains is her true passion but seeing his partner working down that pit, completely in her element is nothing short of breathtaking. She looks radiant explaining to the students around her something about one bone or another, her face sparkling with fascination.

Booth doesn't know how long he sits there watching his partner but suddenly he hears Dr. DelaCruz's voice booming over the loudspeaker announcing the start of the lunch break. Students start pouring out of the four pits towards a big tent that is marked as the cafeteria. Brennan waits for all the students working with her to leave before climbing out of the pit herself.

"I thought I told you to stay over there," she says as he approaches her, her voice and demeanor much more calmer then before.

He hands her a bottle of water, "I thought you knew I wouldn't listen to you"

She rolls her eyes and they walk towards her tent. She reaches into a container and pulls a Tupperware and a fork, before they make their way to a wooden bench and sit down. Brennan opens the container and takes a bite. She sees Booth eyeing her food and grins, offering him a bite.

"You know Bones," he begins after he swallows, "seeing you today down there in that pit, I could really see what you said about being passionate about this. You looked absolutely rapturous"

She smiles at him, "I think we might have made a very important discovery" she tells him, offering another bite.

Booth takes the bite, before taking the fork and Tupperware from her hand and placing them on the bench beside him. He swings the leg closest to her to the other side of the bench, straddling it, so he could face her fully.

"Seeing you like that today made me realize how little you get to do this, how little you get to do what you really love," they lock eyes, "so I thought that instead of staying here breathing down your neck trying to convince you of something that I don't know you feel, that I'd just cut to the chase and tell you what I'm thinking about, what I'm feeling. Then I'll leave you to your work"

Brennan manages a short nod and turns more towards him

Booth's lips curl into a small smile as he watches her apprehensive face but the smile quickly fades as he reaches out and takes one of her hands in both of his. He studies it seriously, running both his thumbs over her knuckles before looking up into her eyes again, "I love you Bones, I'm in love with you."

Brennan had expected this, after all when he kissed her that night he'd told her that he had listened to his heart. Even so, as those words leave his lips her breath hitches and her eyes widen in surprise as her heart rate increases to a very fast beat.

Booth doesn't know what exactly he should make of her expression so he goes on, "But I'm not here to ask anything from you Bones, I'm here because I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of pretending that my heart doesn't go crazy whenever I see you, or hear your voice, I'm tired of pretending that I don't want to kiss you every time you show me that you care about me and I'm tired of pretending that I don't wanna punch every man that touches you who isn't me.

"And that kiss, it was only proof that my mind and my heart are done pushing these feeling away, because, you know, they've been there for so long and I've been pushing it to the back of my head and the bottom of my heart and that night they just 'BOOM'" Booth makes and exploding gesture with his hands.

"But like I said, I'm not asking anything from you Bones. You may or may not feel the same way, and if you don't it's fine; I'm a big boy I can take it. It'll hurt, yes, but I can take it. And once you go back home we'll go back to being partners and friends and even though I cant say everything will be the way it was before, we'll get through it. And if you do care as much as I care, then we'll figure it out when you're home" Booth stops, he runs his thumbs over her knuckles again

"I'm gonna go now and leave you to your thoughts and work" He kisses her one hand he is holding and gets up, "Call me when you get home, okay?"

Brennan nods, "okay"

Booth smiles and moves to pick up his backpack. Once he has it on his back he turns to her and waves, getting a wave back from her, before he starts walking towards the 'exit'.

Brennan watches him walk away, the emotions playing in her mind too great to keep inside, "Booth" she calls out.

Booth turns back towards her and when she doesn't say anything he tilts his head in question.

"Thank you" she says

He smiles at her, "What for Bones?"

_For loving me, for coming all the way to El Salvador to tell me, for always having my back, for never giving up on me…_There're so many things she can but doesn't know how to say. There's only one way she can explain it, "For being you"

---

Brennan walks into her apartment, dropping her luggage by the door and going directly towards her blinking answering machine that shows three new messages. She presses the play button and moves to the kitchen to make herself a nice hot pot of coffee. Although she'd traveled first class as always, the airplane coffee had not been nearly strong enough.

"Hey honey" Max's voice is heard after the machine tells what date and time the message was delivered, "I got your message. I thought you had decided not to go El Salvador. Well anyways, I'm sorry that you had to miss our lunch date, I want a rain check. Call me when you get home. Bye."

Brennan makes a mental note to call her father as she moves to the living room and sits on the couch to wait for her coffee to get ready.

"Hey Dr. B." the second message begins to play, "It's Hodgins here, umm, I just wanna let you know that I'm throwing a New Year's party at my estate and I'd like it if you came. Things will start at about nine-ish but feel free to show up at any time and bring whomever you want. Okay, awesome! Bye-Bye."

There's a beep as the third message begins, "Hey Bones" Booth's smooth voice can be heard, "I know I told you to call me when you got home but Parker wants me to take him snowboarding before classes start again after the New Years. So, ummm, I guess I'll call you when I get back and you can let me what we're doing on New Year's Eve." There is a shuffling noise as Booth begins to move the phone to the stand but suddenly Parker's voice can be heard in the background, "Wait dad, I wanna talk to her"

"Hey Bones," Parker says happily, "guess what, dad is taking me snowboarding! He said we're going and we're sleeping there so that he can do it again the next day. It's really cool right! I wish you could come with us," He continues, "Well, happy belated Christmas, daddy said your party was really cool, and happy New Year too. Bye" He says and there is another shuffling noise until Booth's voice is heard again, "Well I'll see you later Bones and take care okay" He hangs up

Brennan can't help but smile as she listens to father and son. If she ever becomes a parent she hopes she can be as good as Booth at it. Parker idolizes his dad and she hopes she can one day mean as much to a kid.

She takes he cordless phone from the stand and moves to the kitchen to get her coffee as she dials her father's number. They agree to meet for lunch and after she's done with her coffee she takes he luggage back to her room discerning the clean clothes from the dirty ones. After arranging her clean clothes in their respective places and putting the dirty ones in the laundry basket she takes a relaxing bath before moving to her bedroom to get a few hours of sleep until she has to meet Max for lunch.

---

"Hey honey" Max stands up to greet his daughter, "here sit down" he pulls the chair out for her

"Have you ordered yet?" Brennan asks as her father sits back down across from her

"No, no" Max shakes his head, "I was waiting for you," he says and they both pick up the menus to look over it.

"How are you? Is everything okay?" he peeks at her from above the menu, noticing a distant glaze in her eyes

"Yes, I'm fine, everything is fine" She reassures remotely

Max eyes her knowingly

Brennan realizes her father's caught her and shrugs, "It's just—"

"Booth" Max suspects

"What?" Brenna's head snaps towards him, and even though he's right she feels herself getting angry, "Why would Booth have anything to do with my distress? Why did you immediately imagine that it had anything to do with Booth?" she asks irritably, "My life does not revolve around Booth, okay?!"

"Whoa, honey!" Max raises his hands, "I was just guessing. You don't need to get irritated"

"I'm not irritated," she lies returning her gaze to the menu

Max puts his aside and reaches out for her hand. She resists him at first, hesitating to look at him but after he insists she gives up and turns her eyes to him, dropping the menu on the table.

"The reason I guessed Booth is because he's the person you spend the majority of your time with and therefore, the person you're most likely to get into an argument," Max explains

"Okay," Brennan excepts, "that's logical"

Max nods giving her hands a firm squeeze before picking his menu up again. The waiter comes around and takes their orders, coming back shortly afterwards with their drinks. They take the first few sips silently before Max decides to poke again.

"So, what did the two of you fight about?" he asks, grinning reassuringly as his daughter gives him another death glare, "Look if you cant tell me who can you tell?" he asks knowingly fully well she will probably shoot him down.

Angela is the first name that pops into Brennan's head, but unfortunately her best friend is away visiting her father and will only be back after the New Years. She'd usually talk about this with Booth but of course that's out of the question. She looks back at her father reluctantly, he's defiantly not the person she wants to talk to about this, but if she's honest with herself she needs to talk about this with someone, and he is offering his ear, an ear that she knows deep down would listen without judgment.

"Tempe—" Max starts but she cuts him off

"He kissed me" She tells him, "and then he followed me to El Salvador to tell me that he loves me"

"Did he really?" Max asks, surprised that she has confided in him but ready to be the father she needs.

"Yes" Brennan nods "I just told you"

Max chuckles, "Well, finally"

Brennan opens her mouth to protest but Max puts a hand up to stop her

"Tempe, it's always been written all over both of your faces" he tells her truthfully

"But I never said I—"

"You don't have too. It's been there forever, but you were both two afraid to see it. But everyone else has" He looks at her sincerely before continuing, "This is good Tempe, Booth is a good man. He's always been there to protect you, even against me. To tell you the truth I always prayed he'd get up his ass and sweep you off your feet. And that's saying a lot coming from a father"

"I don't need a man to protect me from anything," she tells him matter-of-factly, "I can do that on my own. I've been doing that on my own since I was fifteen," she points out, "as for sweeping me off my feet, although Booth does have the necessary strength to carry me on his arms, in the context that you meant it, it only happens in fiction, not in real life"

"Tempe," Max shakes his head at his amusing daughter, "I'm not saying that you're helpless and need Booth or any man to protect you. What I'm saying is that you protect one another, you know, he protects you and you protect him. You've already been doing this for years," he states, "as a matter of fact, you two act more like couple than a lot of couples out there"

"That's completely irrational," Brennan raises her voice, "Booth and I do not act like a couple"

"Right," Max smiles sarcastically, "How many times have you two been asked if you're a real couple?"

Brennan stays silent at first before answering quietly, "That's not the point"

"Oh, it's not" Max chuckles ironically but after Brennan shoots him a hard glare he turns serious again, "Tempe honey, I know this is hard for you, and most of it is due to your mother and I leaving you when you were so young. I know that it's hard for you to understand your feelings when you had no one to explain them to you when you first felt them," He tells her, "But Booth, that is a man who would and has gone above and beyond for you, as you have also gone above and beyond for him." He continues, "And I can't tell you what to do here, as I'm sure you don't want me to. You're grown woman who has handled herself alone very well. But as a more experienced human being, and someone who wants nothing but to see you happy honey, I have to tell you that when I found that with your mother, and I let myself live through those emotions, those were the best years of my life"

"And maybe I'm not the person you want or have to hear this from. Maybe you need to hear this from Booth himself. After all he's the person you trust the most," Max pats her hands," But if you want my advice, if it's any good for you, then let go of your fears and embrace your emotions."


End file.
